The 1949 colonial overflowed with stuff — piles on the beds, stacks along the walls, mounds in the basement. Clothes, junk mail, yellowing newspapers, a Family Circle magazine from 1999.
Peeking through were hints that someone once took pride in this three-bedroom home in a middle-class neighborhood: Ornate, gold-upholstered furniture was covered in plastic, to keep it clean; elegant figurines were lined up in a built-in bookshelf.
But on a recent day, only a narrow path led through the mess.